A whole appeal, start to finish.
This is the full deliverable for a made-up developer, “Northline Apps”, terminated for “high-risk behaviour”. The developer, the app and the account numbers are invented. A real appeal is written only from what you send us. Use this as a guide if you would rather write your own.
1. Policy diagnosis
Diagnosis · sample
Notice: “Your Google Play Developer account has been terminated … high-risk behaviour … prior violations or associated accounts.” No specific app policy named.
What “high-risk behaviour” usually means: Google's enforcement page lists it beside “prior violations” and “associated accounts”: a pattern signal, not a single app violation. The three triggers that fit this case: (a) a sensitive permission (READ_SMS) in a first app from a new account, (b) a $25 registration paid with a card in a different name from the developer profile, (c) 14 testers reached but several testers' accounts inactive, which some reviewers read as a test-gaming signal.
Most likely trigger: (a) and (b) together. (c) is worth stating, not arguing.
What the appeal must do: name the policy area, state the related-account facts without being asked, show the permission fix with a date and build number, and ask for a human review in one sentence.
2. The appeal (1,000 characters, fits Google's form)
Appeal · sample · 1,000 / 1,000 characters
Developer account ID ending 3529 (Northline Apps) was terminated on 6 August 2026 for “high-risk behaviour”. I ask for a human review on these facts.
Related accounts: this is the only Play developer account I have ever owned, used or helped run. No shared payment method, device, phone number or address with any other account. The $25 fee was paid from my own card; the cardholder name differed from my profile only because the profile used my middle name, now corrected.
The app: Tidelog, a tide-table app, one build (v1.0.3), closed testing from 18 July to 3 August with 14 opted-in testers, then production access requested.
Likely cause and fix: v1.0.3 requested READ_SMS to read a one-time code. That permission was removed on 9 August; v1.0.4 uses the SMS Retriever API and requests no sensitive permissions. The Data safety form was updated to match.
I accept the policies and will keep the account to one app at a time while under review. Thank you.
3. Evidence map
Evidence map · sample
1. The termination email: date, the exact wording, the policy page it links to. 2. Play Console policy status page, screenshot, showing “Account terminated” and any listed issues. 3. Closed-testing dates and tester count, from the Testing page. 4. Payments profile showing the registration fee and the cardholder name. 5. The permission change: the v1.0.3 manifest line, the v1.0.4 manifest without it, build dates. 6. A one-line list of every Google account, device and payment method you used with Play, even once. 7. If another person ever had access (a contractor, an agency), their role and dates.
Order: 1, 2, 6, 5, 3, 4, 7. The reviewer reads the related-account facts before anything else.
4. Related-account check
Related-account check · sample
Answer each in one line, honestly, before you appeal. Google's “associated account” review looks at: another developer account you own or owned, including an old test account; an account you were ever added to as a user or admin; a family member or housemate with a developer account on the same network, device or card; an agency or freelancer who published for you; a payment method, phone number, address or device shared with any of those; a previous termination of any of them. A “yes” is not fatal; an unexplained “yes” that Google already knows about is.
5. What not to do
What not to do · sample
Do not open a new account under another name, card or company; Google links them and terminates both. Do not send five appeals with the same text; one complete appeal, then wait for the reply. Do not paste a 3,000-character story; the form stops at 1,000 and the end is where your ask is. Do not threaten legal action in the appeal. Do not blame testers, reviewers or “the algorithm”. Do not ask friends to report the decision on social media before the appeal is answered. Do not pay anyone who promises reinstatement; Google decides, and the appeal is free.
Sample only. The developer and the app are invented. Google decides and its appeal is free; nothing here is legal advice. Not affiliated with Google.